THE National Peace Committee, NPC, yesterday, raised the alarm on how the growing concerns of vote-buying, violence and insecurity could vitiate the legitimacy of Ekiti State’s Gubernatorial election scheduled for June 20, 2026

Speaking over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti at a 3-day Stakeholders’ Validation Forum organised by the NPC through its secretariat, the Kukah Centre, the Senior Programme Manager of the Kukah Centre, Esrom Ajanya, said the forum was convened to strengthen peaceful, issue-based electoral processes ahead of the governorship poll.

According to him, the validation forum, funded by the European Union, was designed to bolster local ownership of electoral risk assessments and generate practical recommendations for preventing violence.

Ajanya explained that the process includes monitoring the electoral environment and assessing security dynamics through an election security information hub, which, according to him, is designed to develop a context analysis of the political situation in Ekiti to guide the National Peace Committee’s engagement with stakeholders across the electoral value chain.

His words: “As we know, June 20 has been set for the governorship election in Ekiti State, and that is why we are here. The process has involved monitoring the electoral space and examining election-related security issues through what we at the Kukah Centre call the Election Security Information Hub.

“We are building a context analysis of the political situation in Ekiti State as a basis for the National Peace Committee to engage stakeholders at various levels in the electoral process.

“One fundamental issue highlighted by the context analysis is the question of procedural compliance versus political substance. In other words, if you look at the electoral calendar and review the milestones set by the electoral management body, you may be able to tick the boxes to show that processes have been followed.

“However, it is important that, beyond procedural compliance, the substance of what is being achieved also aligns.

“This includes examining underlying issues that may arise, such as how insecurity could impact the elections, as well as grassroots engagement in the electoral process. We are currently within the campaign period, so we are assessing participation levels and the quality of engagement.”